Washington, January 17 : Tom Hanks has branded the Mormon Church's support for California''s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, as `Un-American'.

Supporting the equal rights of every citizen, the actor expressed his discontent with the passing of the proposition and raised his voice against discrimination.

"The truth is this takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen," Fox News quoted him as telling Tarts.

"There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them. I do not like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper, any of the 50 states in America, but here''s what happens now.

"A little bit of light can be shed, and people can see who''s responsible, and that can motivate the next go around of our self correcting Constitution, and hopefully we can move forward instead of backwards.

"So let''s have faith in not only the American, but Californian, constitutional process," he added.

Bill McKeever, Mormonism Research Ministry's rep, however, said: "Personally, I find it un-American to tell people that they shouldn't vote their conscience.

"Hanks' comment shows that he very much believes in discriminating against people with whom he disagrees. I may not agree with Mormon theology, but I certainly defend their right to express their opinion." (ANI)